Protecting young girls from cervical cancer

Did you know that one out of 10 Filipino teens, aged 15 to 19, is already a mother or pregnant with her first child (according to the Philippine Statistics Authority)? Not too long ago, that would have raised not a few eyebrows.

“My baby is having a baby,” one distraught mom laments, after finding out that her daughter, who’s barely out of high school, is pregnant.

Along with the rise in the incidence of early pregnancy comes the increase in the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases. At a recent media forum at New World Hotel Makati, speakers zeroed in on the topic “An HPV-free future.” HPV (human papillomavirus) is the most common sexually transmitted infection, of which there are over a hundred varieties. It is so common that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “most sexually active people will get some variety of it at some point, even if they have few sexual partners.”

Did you know that HPV can be passed on or transmitted through direct skin-to-skin contact? “Any form of skin-to-skin contact,” elaborates Dr. Ricardo Manalastas, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, College of Medicine, Philippine General Hospital, UP Manila. “We’re talking of the anogenital area, genital contact even without sex, touching or fondling, kissing, having oral sex.”

The good doctor adds, “HPV is more common among young people, especially men having sex with men. In the Philippines, recent epidemiological studies reveal the profile for HPV: late teens through the 20s and early 30s, especially young professionals and unmarried.”

Delving further into the issue, did you know that people with HPV are at higher risk of getting cervical cancer?

As good old-fashioned wisdom will tell you, prevention is key. “Preventive vaccine,” says Dr. Manalastas. “And we don’t talk about vaccination as anti-STD but more as anti-cervical cancer. We’d like to say this is a vaccine that reduces your risk or chance of getting cervical cancer.”

Cervical cancer is the second leading cause of death among Filipino women.

The primary target is the nine-to-15 age group (adolescents) because, says Dr. Manalastas, “most of these girls are not exposed to the virus yet because they’re not sexually active ... They respond excessively well to the vaccine because their immune system is still very efficient. They will react to the vaccine and be protected.”

In fact, for this age group, they found out that the girls only need two doses (with the second dose given after six months). On the other hand, the others would need three doses (the second dose given after two months). “Up to now, after 15 years, they’re still protected. No need for a booster dose as of now,” Dr. Manalastas shares.

Depending on where you’re getting it, the newest vaccine costs anywhere from P7,000 to 8,000.

But some parents have raised this fear: Won’t my daughter feel free to engage in sex just because she’s protected?

“It’s what’s called behavioral disinhibition,” Dr. Manalastas addresses parents’ concern. “It was found that young people don’t cite not having the vaccine as the reason they don’t engage in sex.”

You can’t get HPV if you’re in a monogamous relationship, right?

Wrong, says Dr. Manalastas. “You can get it even if you’re in a monogamous relationship. Like, before you met your significant other, he/she has been infected; he/she brought the infection into the relationship.”

However, he points out, “The good thing about it is even if it’s very common, if you have a good immune system, you can control the virus (scientists say it never really goes away, it just goes dormant), it doesn’t cause any symptoms. But if your immune system goes down, the virus becomes active, you get the symptoms. You can get the disease, including cervical cancer.”

“Not many people know that while HPV infection is the major cause of cervical cancer, it is also responsible for a host of many other diseases — ranging from the unsightly and painful such as genital warts, to other fatal malignancies such as anal, vaginal, and penile cancer,” says Dr. Ma. Cristina Crisologo, medical adviser for vaccines of pharma leader MSD in the Philippines.

“May being Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, MSD is spearheading a groundbreaking discussion dubbed ‘An HPV-Free Future.’ With this dialogue, we aim to generate more awareness and discussion on HPV, and also to change our perspective on such kinds of diseases so that we may overcome them more effectively and efficiently,” asserts Dr. Beaver Tamesis, managing director of MSD in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, Dr. Jaimie Badillo, a medical doctor from Healthway Medical, traces the alarming increase in teenage pregnancy and STD cases to economic and educational factors. “Since they are unaware of the causes of transmission of STDs due to lack of proper guidance and information, they tend to engage in unprotected sex. Indiscriminate tattooing, body piercing, drug abuse, among others, also add to the risks of infection. This lack of guidance and awareness on the dangers of unprotected sex has also resulted in many teenagers becoming young parents.”

Given these realities, Healthway Medical, the country’s trusted mall-based clinics, is helping promote awareness on these pressing issues.

According to Carmie De Leon, VP of sales and marketing, Healthway Medical, as part of its mission of educating the public on important health issues, Healthway conducts information dissemination programs aimed at making people aware of the dangers of engaging in unsafe sexual practices. The mall-based clinic offers a one-stop-shop for teenagers and young adults to get medical examinations, like HIV tests, as well as preventive healthcare consultations. (For more information, visit Healthway Medical’s website at www.healthway.com.ph and follow Healthway Medical on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/healthwaymedical/.

Surely, with a future free of HPV, young people would be free to follow their dreams and live life to the fullest.